Two Ways to Get Involved and Be Greener

Arbor Day is an annual opportunity to celebrate the role of trees in our lives and to plant
more trees. You and your small business can consider giving. You can give of your time
or give financially – whatever suits you. To volunteer to plant trees for Arbor Day, check
out this site for details.

You can find learning resources here to teach your community more about the value of
trees. Think about planning your own event to celebrate the special role that trees play in your community. They help clean the air, give us shade, piles of leaves to jump into, lumber and so much more.

Or try starting your celebration by selecting an area like a park, empty lot or city block
in your community that needs some extra tender loving care. Spend some time as a
group cleaning it up and then plant a few new trees for the future. This sort of event
can become an annual happening that people look forward to that also beautifies the
community and could double as a team building event for your small business too.

What’s your favorite part of what trees provide?

2. Earth Day on April 22, 2012

Earth Day came about in 1970 and was born out of a movement to raise social
consciousness and put environmental concerns in the forefront. It’s been celebrated
each year for forty-one years and is still going strong. To get involved, you can search for an Earth Day event in your area or learn how to create your own.

A book that I always think of in conjunction with Earth Day is Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. It was originally published in 1962 and it still widely available today. Although some of the chemical information may be out of date, her concept still rings true. We need to treat the earth gently. Here’s an excerpt from her book that stopped me in my tracks;

“The history of life on earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings. To a large extent, the physical form and the habits of the earth’s vegetation and its animal life have been molded by the environment. Considering the whole span of earthly time, the opposite effect, in which life actually modifies its surroundings, has been relatively slight. Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species—man—acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.” – Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

As you go forward to alter our world and what’s allowed in it, think carefully and proceed
with caution. Think about making good choices for the earth as well as yourself in your
workspace like; making recycling bins easily available, buying green office supplies
whenever possible, minimizing car trips, minimizing office waste wherever you can and
encouraging others to do so as well.

The calendar says it’s Spring, it’s a time for new beginnings. These two days are so close together — why not celebrate all week? How will you make a difference this year?